Memorial Day

I will start by saying I think all weekends should last 3 days. I would be a much happier and more productive individual. Eventually, I fear, 3 days would not feel long enough and I would crave 4. Then 5. Perhaps that will work out someday, but for now I am back at work counting the days until the weekend.

We had a very relaxing Memorial Day weekend. Nothing too exciting. I caught up on laundry, went for lots of walks, planted some flowers, ran errands, enjoyed a cook out at Lucian's parents' and hung out with my baby girl. I'm really missing her today.

Auntie M visited Saturday and brought Claire another new outfit. I think she bought her something at the outlet mall yesterday too. She is one spoiled (and well dressed) niece:)

Claire wasn't in the mood to smile, so Auntie M joined in. Whose hair do you think is longer?

We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend. Here's a few shots of Claire in her PJs on the deck before bed. We were discussing the need for a baby pool for Claire, I think she would love it.

So big!

Lucian's big ride is less than a week away. Thanks to Blanca's delicious baking and some generous individuals, he has met his fund raising goal! Thank you to everyone who was able to contribute. Your generosity is much appreciated.

The weekend, for him, consisted of 3 group rides, packing and final supply shopping. He flies out Friday and will ride Sunday to Saturday. I'll post some updates here and I know he will use Facebook as well. I am very excited for him and a little nervous to be on my own for a week. Luckily Nana Barb and Grandpa Joe are coming up as reinforcements:)

A couple riding shots from the weekend

This was the scene in our kitchen last night. Lucian packing his daily supplies: energy gels, drink mixes, vitamins etc.

Claire Makes Dinner

Swings

I took this video a few weekends ago at the park. It features her excited breathing and signature head bob. Enjoy.

Feels Like Summer

A few quick development updates. Claire's second tooth popped through last week. This one didn't seem to affect her as much, but we definitely know when she is hurting. Claire is so close to crawling! It really will be any day now. It is getting harder and harder to contain her while I clean, cook or eat. I think we are maxing out the baby bjorn, but I've pulled it out a few times recently to cook or vacuum. Here we are making dinner.


What a great weekend. We had some friends over for dinner Sat. evening. We invited them around 4:30 because both couples have little ones too, a 4-month old and a 3-week old, and we didn't want to completely throw off their schedules. It was very fun to see the differences in ages and think they'll probably all end up in the same grade once school starts. Here is Spencer with 3-week old Owen. He felt so light compared to Claire!

Claire at the table in her PJs.

The weather was amazing on Sunday. I was so happy to break out capri pants and short sleeves for Claire. We played outside quite a bit and enjoyed having the house open. Here's a few shots I took on the deck.

Hanging with Dad after he washed his bike. He is gearing up for his big California ride in 2 weeks. We are sure going to miss him!

Longer weekends?

I swear, weekends seem to fly by and I never get as much done as I had hoped. Generally, I spend a significant amount of time with Claire so that could explain some of the housekeeping and chores that fall behind. Although she did fall asleep tonight in the baby bjorn while I was vacuuming.

Late Saturday morning Claire and I took a walk to the park nearby. I wanted to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather, so a trip to the swings seemed like the perfect plan. Unfortunately, they don't allow dogs in the play area so Tatum had to stay behind. (This park is usually where we take him for walks as well.) Claire enjoyed the swings for a while and loved watching the kids run around. I helped her go down the slide and we checked out some games. She must have enjoyed it, she fell asleep on the walk back.



We made sure to take Tatum out for a walk today. Claire loved the stroller time. She watched the dog quite a bit and kept her arm reached out to touch him if he came closer. Tatum knew better and kept the perfect distance.


Nana Barb and Grandpa Joe stopped by today while in town to swap cars with my sister. Nana finished Claire's quilt and it's beautiful! Claire tried it out this evening and demonstrated some of her scooting moves.

She even managed to get up on all fours

And lastly, the orioles are here! We put out oranges and grape jelly every year to attract the beautiful birds. Lucian snapped this picture this morning.

Spencer Returns!

After a week in San Jose, CA, Spencer (reluctantly) returned home late last night. Six kids from his high school went on the trip. The week consisted of opening ceremonies, judging sessions, speakers, mixers, a pin exchange and awards. Although their project didn't win an award, Spen and Joe had a great time and met some cool people from around the globe.

The boys and their project

The group met for breakfast every day to discuss their agenda

They also ventured out to see the redwoods one day

He is already missing sunny California.

8 Months on Mother's Day

Claire was officially 8 months old on Sunday. She is growing and changing so much. She seems to have lightning fast arms when she wants to grab something. Non-toys are her favorite toys. She scoots around really well on the floor and tips over baskets to get to her toys. She has one tooth that's pretty easy to see now. I recently bought her some amber beads to "chew" on after reading it can help with teething. She has been having a rough time.

Claire post-bath

Reaching for her comb

We were trying to reflect some light on Claire's face as I took these photos, but Claire stole our tool. She was pretty proud of herself.

I zoomed in on the photo above. Can you see her tooth?

Spencer left for San Jose, CA early Sunday morning. He's there until Friday attending the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Yesterday was their only free day. Spencer said they were able to spend some time in Santa Cruz and also went to the redwoods. Here's a shot his teacher sent to the parents today.

Claire got me 2 small canvases and easels we had originally thought would make great hand print canvases. Unfortunately her hands are too big for them now, so I think she will have to do some finger painting. Should be fun, provided I can keep her from eating the paint.

We had a lovely lunch and visited with Lucian's family on Sunday to celebrate Mother's day. We also went for 2 bike rides. What was supposed to be a quick morning ride turned into a bit of an ordeal after Lucian's bike got a flat. We swapped the trailer to my bike and I rode home to get the car and an air pump, after our efforts to inflate the new tube failed. In the end, Lucian rode home on it and we were late to lunch.

Silver spoons

We went out for a longer ride to Lucian's parents and back since we forgot to bring Nana Kathleen's gift to lunch (in our rush to get out the door). It was a good excuse to get some exercise.

Hope you all had a great weekend. I can't believe it's Wed. already and I am just now getting around to a post. Where does the time go? Not to sleep I can tell you!

Love This Weather and a Tooth!

This post is really all about pictures. However, the big news doesn't have photo support right now. Claire is getting her first tooth! We just noticed it poking through on Wed. morning last week. It explains a lot of her runny noses and interrupted sleep lately. It is her bottom front right tooth and we can just now see a splash of white. It's been a very exciting week:)

We went out to breakfast Sat. morning and stopped at Lake Park (where Lucian and I were married) on the way home. I've been wanting to take Claire to a park to swing and was happy to go for the first time with Lucian as well. She really liked it. We'd love to get one to hang from the tree in front of our house.


Claire and I attended a wedding shower in the afternoon. She did great sitting on a blanket playing and even helped open gifts.



After the wedding shower, we took Claire on her first bike ride. Some neighbors loaned us their trailer for the summer and we've been anxious to try it out. I think we had more fun than she did, but we'll surely try it again.

Before the ride.

Lucian towed her, of course:)

Post-ride

I love seeing Claire's bare arms and being outside. We took a long walk with the stroller today and set up a blanket outside while Lucian did a little yard work. Claire is sitting up really well and can transition to a crawling pose. She even rocks back and forth when she gets to her knees. I think we are in trouble soon.